Near-Tragedies Prompt Warnings on Dangers of Gas Heating Devices

Sherry McGrath was relaxing in her basement bedroom on Fuerte Drive in La Mesa one cold, wet evening in December when she passed out, falling and hitting her head on a marble table.

When she regained consciousness, she managed to crawl over to the intercom on the wall and call for help. Her grandmother called the Grossmont-Mt. Helix Fire District and McGrath was taken to nearby Kaiser-Permanente Hospital, where she recovered.

An inspection of the heating units in her home by San Diego Gas & Electric revealed that McGrath’s fainting spell was caused by an improperly installed gas water heater. There was not enough ventilation for the heater, and McGrath had been breathing carbon monoxide instead of oxygen, SDG&E; said.

On Dec. 29, the Oceanside Fire Department made an emergency run to a house in the 500 block of South Myers Street.

Constance Lewis, 29, her two children--Love, 4, and Romance, 8--and a friend, Eddie Williams, 22, had gone to sleep the night before with all the burners on the gas stove ablaze to heat the home. The windows were tightly shut and secured against burglars, eliminating ventilation and increasing the concentration of carbon monoxide, Fire Marshal Henry Contreras said.

Everyone at the home awakened the next day feeling disoriented, nauseous and headachy. A Life Flight helicopter rushed them to UCSD Medical Center. All four were in serious condition and Williams was put in a decompression chamber, where his body was flooded with oxygen, Contreras said.

The two incidents are reminders of the dangers posed every winter by natural gas units that are improperly installed, used or maintained, said SDG&E; spokesman Norm Niles.

Among the dangers are:

- Fires caused by the collection of lint around the furnace burners or in the filter. It is important to check furnaces regularly, replacing or cleaning filters when necessary and removing any lint that has collected, Niles said.

- Possible suffocation if a gas burner consumes too much oxygen, leaving deadly carbon monoxide in the air. To offset problems, SDG&E; has mailed inserts with its gas bills to more than 880,000 customers detailing how to properly clean and relight forced air, wall and floor furnaces.

In each case, the thermostat must be turned off before cleaning.